Thar Shaddin

I was thinking of getting a Mac laptop for college. Thing is I've never actually used one before. I've only ever used PC's. I've seen some of the things Macs can do but very little. And I've also talked to several people about it, some very experienced with them and others not so much. What does everyone think? Feel free to pour your heart out if you feel specifically inclined toward one or the other. I'm hoping you all might help me make an informed decision. Help please!!

Macs have some particular advantages and disadvantages. It depends what you want to do on them.

The biggest disadvantage is the price. They don't come cheap, although with laptops there's less of a difference because all laptops are expensive and custom built anyway. Then there is the fact that software for windoze doesn't run on them obviously, so you have to find mac versions of things. Microsoft office is available for mac, and if that's all you're doing along with surfing the net, then it shouldn't be much of an issue. But it will come up eventually. Someone'll want to show you a game or a program, or you'll download one, and it just won't work on a mac.

On the other hand they look nice, crash less, are easy to use, and are practically immune to viruses.

Hey thanks! Was waiting for some other people to comment but it seems you might be one of the few (if not the only one) around here that have one

I've seen them before and I love their sleek layout and such. Fortunately for me, my old work associate who's worked with all kinds of computers practically all his life (he's in his 40's or 50's i'd say) has been quite helpful. From what I've been told you can leave them on 24/7 and not have problems whereas pc's get slower and slower and eventually have to shut down bc they don't clean up after themselves. I've also been told there are lots of programs for macs. You just have to know where to look.

From what ive seen (granted it was a school shopping discount thing) they are actually cheaper. And if they are really more epensive on average, they're probably so expensive because so little people buy them due to the PC's brainwashed popularity. They have to make their money somehow. *shrugs*

I plan on using my mac laptop for programming and graphics and web design. I've been told that mac's do not work as fast. From your experience is that true (or perhaps my associate meant just the ibook laptops)?

Newer mac G5s run on a 64 bit processor, which is very fast. Even though the Mhz only goes up to about 2.8 on macs, with 64 bits that means it's quite fast. I'm not sure about the laptops though. Laptops are always slower, mac or PC.

The laptops may be the same price or even cheaper than PCs, but that's only laptops. The desktops are more expensive, always, usually by far. The kind of programming you'll be doing in first and second year will not require a good processor anyway. You'll be doing basic stuff that would run fast on any computer. Graphics are always nicer on macs, they're designed for that.

Don't be surprised, though, if you have trouble finding the software to program on it.

My opinion is much less than useless, but I'll give to you anyway *LOL*

I don't like Macs. I am sure that everything Frug said is true. Personally, I don't like the "idiot-proof"-ness of them (if you are interested, read Seymour Papert's book "The Connected Family" for reasons why non-transparent technology is not really a good idea). I have had plenty of Macs crash on me, and I believe that number is higher than the number of PCs that have crashed on me. I don't know, maybe I'm just really unlucky.

From what I've heard from my husband, Linux is actually the best operating system to have. *shrug* I wouldn't know, I haven't used many of them. The ones I have did seem to work better though.

Regardless, I wish you luck on your quest! May whatever laptop you get be kind to you!

Well you have to differentiate between new macs and old macs. Old macs, the ones I'm betting you used that crashed on you, were horrible, horrible pieces of junk. I have one along with my PC, so I should know.

A few years ago they were rebuilt from the ground up. You know, when candy coloured imacs appeared and macs actually became popular again (sort of). They have a new operating system, new hardware and new software and they actually became much more transparent to the user than the old ones, which didn't let you do -anything-.

The new macs run on a Unix core, which means that, essentially, they are the same as Linux. They just lack the variety of software. You have about as much control as you have with windoze.

Ahh, that might explain it. *chuckle* the old macs, that is. Yeah, I was definitely talking about the ones that didn't let you do anything, so they must have been the old ones. I grew up with a PC, so naturally I'm more used to them. But you make me want to try a new mac! *LOL*

I call them the BMWs of computers. If you can put down the cash for one, you get a nice shiny box that looks swanky and goes fast, with a lot of perks at the cost of some practicality.

ha! Are you talking about the mac mini frug? Those things look so sweet! They're so small and run super cool and quiet. For me though I require a laptop. Personally, I like how the mac laptops look compared to pc's. They are thinner and more sleek than many pc laptops. Many pc laptops end up big and clunky unless you want less than up to par performance and minimal data storage. *wrinkles nose* There was this one 'laptop' pc i saw in a store the other day that was humongous! I just dont get what the point is getting a laptop that's practically the size of and as heavy as a flat screen LCD Display monitor, you know? Heavy and clunky! Ick!

As for the op system its supposed to be much more efficient from what i've seen and heard. Like frug said, it rarely crashes and its more organized so your computer is less likely to slow down when your working. Truely awesome ^.^